Expect Vanderbilt to do everything possible to avoid the embarrassing carousel at quarterback that defined its 2014 season.

Four different players started at the position last year for the Commodores, who seemingly made a change each time a player threw an interception or lost a game. Stephen Rivers transferred out of the program, but the team again has four players competing for the starting job this spring.

Vandy will seek to narrow that competition to two players after spring practice concludes Saturday.

“I never want to be in that situation again,” coach Derek Mason told ESPN.com. “I want to have a guy that’s a starter and I want a guy that’s a No. 2 and those are the guys you play with.

“But in coming here, we really had an untested redshirt freshman, a true freshman and then we had a transfer. They all had moments of greatness and moments of despair.

“I look back at it — inexperience as a head coach a little bit. I don’t apologize for it, but you learn from it and you move on.”

According to the same ESPN report, four-star QB Kyle Shurmur, who won’t arrive until this summer, likely will redshirt in 2015. That means new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig will be able to choose between Patton Robinette, Johnny McCrary, Wade Freebeck — all of whom started for the ‘Dores in ’14 — and redshirt freshman Shawn Stankavage.

ESPN reported that Robinette and McCrary are the frontrunners right now, calling the situation “fluid.” Barring some major unforeseen changes this week, though, those two should exit spring practice as the starter and backup, in some order. The team probably won’t name a starter until closer to the season.

“You can’t get three or four guys ready to play, so we’ll narrow it down to two. That process is well on its way,” Ludwig told ESPN.com. “The thing we need out of that position is consistency and repetitive accuracy.”

From the report:

The player who best fits that bill is Robinette, who had the highest completion percentage of any quarterback last season (64.2). McCrary, despite his raw play-making ability, completed only 51.3 percent of his passes. Freebeck came in at 47.2 percent and Rivers at 38.5.

Robinette is also the most experienced of the bunch, having won a bowl game (2013 BBVA Compass Bowl). He isn’t lacking in the intelligence department, either (he was recently accepted into Vanderbilt Medical School).

So while Robinette calls last season a “roller-coaster” with a lot of “tough nights” because of the QB competition playing out like it did, he said he has learned not to put too much pressure on the situation. That’s the coaches’ job.

Mason would do well to let Ludwig handle the quarterback decisions this year. He seems like an honest, no-nonsense guy who isn’t likely to create such uncertainty at the position. He also seems unafraid to be honest with the players about how much they need to improve to be competent.

If you’re planning on watching Saturday’s Black & Gold spring game (2 p.m. ET), quarterback should be near the top of your list of things to monitor closely.